December 15, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - Over the
weekend CNN breathlessly reported as "Breaking News"
-- it breathlessly reports everything as "Breaking
News" -- a new poll indicating that people are
increasingly frightened about terrorism. The
accompanying web story
stated, "Terrorism has eclipsed the economy as
voters' top pick for the biggest issue facing
America, a New York Times/CBS News
poll has found. Last month only 4% of Americans
said terrorism was the most important problem,
according to the New York Times. Now nearly one in
five -- 19% -- believe it is."

The story goes on:

Following terrorist attacks in
Paris and in San Bernardino, California, the
poll said Americans are more fearful about the
likelihood of another terrorist attack than at
any other time since the weeks after Sept. 11,
2001....

More than four in 10 Americans --
44% -- believe an attack is "very" likely to
happen in the next few months. And 70% say that
ISIS is a major threat to America's security.

Nearly 60% of people are "very"
concerned about the threat of terrorism against
Americans committed by elements entering the
U.S. from other countries. And 63% are "very"
concerned about the threat of terrorism against
Americans committed by people currently living
in the U.S. who are inspired by foreign
extremists."

How likely is an American to be a
victim? Curiously, CNN never bothers to say.

In fact, the likelihood is
so low that the saturation coverage -- which is
better described as fear-mongering -- looks
ridiculous. Commonplace things are far more
likely to kill Americans than terrorism -- from any
source -- yet you won't learn that by watching TV or
reading the daily newspaper.

"Although [over the last 40 years] the yearly chance
an American will be killed by a terrorist within the
country is about one in 4 million under present
conditions," Mueller and Stewart write, "around 40
percent of Americans have professed, in polls taken
since late 2001, that they worry they or a family
member will become a victim of a terrorist." ["For
the period since 2001, the chances are one in 110
million."]

After the attacks, American officials from the
president on down sounded repeated alarms about how
many al-Qaeda operatives (2,000-5,000) and sleeper
cells were in America and about a coming second wave
of terrorism. The lack of evidence was considered
evidence. No operatives or cells were found and no
second wave took place, yet no official apologized.

Thus the U.S. government's expenditure of trillions
of dollars since 9/11 is shown to be outrageous.

We've been through this before. In the 1980s a group
of right-wing "experts," aided by the media, tried
to scare Americans into believing that
Soviet-trained terrorists were among us. If so, they
preferred living here peacefully to creating mayhem.

Why do the government, the media establishment, and
an assortment of consultants traffic in fear?

It's not a hard question. Many people profit from
fear-mongering about terrorism. Politicians and
bureaucrats gain more power. They also gain access
to more money (through borrowing, that is, taxation
of future generations). That money ends up in the
terrorism industry, a constellation of firms
that sell the government endless quantities of goods
and services.

No presidential candidate dare tell the truth
because rivals will portray him or her as a
weak-kneed, head-in-the-sand appeaser.
Fear-mongering brings the worst to the top.

Finally, the news media and the "sham
'terrorism expert' industry" it fosters have
every incentive to exaggerate any danger.
Fear-mongering attracts viewers and builds
circulation. Why would CNN report something that
might prompt viewers to change the channel?

Regular Americans pay a heavy price -- in stress
(which is a killer), in lost liberty and privacy,
and in prosperity forgone. Fear of terrorism also
makes people more willing to support American
militarism in the Middle East, which creates more
would-be terrorists than it destroys and keeps the
scam going.

What will it take to change this perverse system
that thrives on power, war, and fear?

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